


The Unexpected Things

by NeverForgetStarkiller



Series: Gingerpilot Holiday 2018 [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Armitage Dameron, Awkward dinner party, Gingerpilot, Implied Reylo sort of, M/M, Married Couple, Redeemed Armitage Hux, Redeemed Ben Solo, Star Wars Post-War Future, minor finnrose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-28 23:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17192519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverForgetStarkiller/pseuds/NeverForgetStarkiller
Summary: Day 3: Holiday Visits From Family, Friends, or FoesLife is all about the unexpected things. Armitage happens to hate the unexpected things, though, especially when those things include his least-favorite person in the world showing up for a holiday dinner.





	The Unexpected Things

The buzzer at the door rang out across the apartment. Armitage jolted upright, reaching for Poe’s blaster. “Hey, relax,” Poe said.

“Relax? It could be an assassin.”

“Sure, the old day-after-Life-Day assassination trick,” said Poe.

“Quiet.” Armitage hit Poe’s hands away and stood, walking toward the door. “I am not expecting anyone. Are you expecting anyone?”

Poe scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that…” To be fair, they hadn’t given him an exact time. And, Poe had _planned_ on telling Armitage. At some point before they arrived. He’d just thought he’d get around to it.

Armitage shot him a glare and got up, walking over to unlock and open the door. The door whirred open.

All too many people were standing on the other side. Armitage stiffened as he found himself face-to-face with Finn, Rose, Rey, Ben, and Lando. Everyone except Rey and Lando went stiff, too.

“Why are they here?” Armitage asked.

“We’re right here,” said Rose. “We can hear you.”

“Fine. Why are _you_ here?”

“It’s the holiday season,” said Finn. “So, we’re visiting our friend. Also, you’re here.” Poe walked over and hugged Finn and Rose. He nodded toward the other three.

“Poe Dameron,” Lando said. He grinned. “Good to see you again.”

Poe shook Lando’s hand with a smirk. “You, too, Lando.”

“This must be Hux.” Lando held out a hand toward Armitage. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, kid, but your reputation precedes you.”

Armitage crossed his arms. He was getting far too old for anyone to call him a ‘kid’ anymore.  “Much like your nephew’s should precede him.”

Poe clapped a hand on Armitage’s shoulder. He said, “He’s not going by Hux anymore. Armitage is fine.”

“Armitage? Now, there’s a name…”

Ben glared. “You changed your name?” he asked. Rey elbowed him.

“Yes,” said Armitage. “ _Kylo Ren._ ”

Poe glanced at Finn and shrugged. It was shaping up to be about the evening they’d all expected. It’d been a long time since everyone had been together. Poe hadn’t seen Lando in almost a decade – not since the end of the war. Ben had more or less avoided the entire galaxy since the death of Kylo Ren, and Rey had been off doing… Well, Jedi things.

“Come on in, guys,” said Poe.

Dinner had seemed like a great idea to Poe Dameron last week. Now that Armitage was holed up in the bedroom under the pretense of “fixing his hair,” Poe was reminded why he it wasn’t a good idea to surprise his husband.

Poe knocked on the door. “Hey, the food’s here. You almost ready?”

“I’m not feeling well.”

Convenient how that happened after company showed up. “Yeah, okay,” said Poe. “I’ll come check on you in a little while, okay?” Poe went back to the dining room. “Work,” he told the others. “He’s on a call.”

“I know what that’s like,” said Lando. Rose and Finn nodded and kept eating. Poe sat across from Finn and helped himself to some food. He almost didn’t notice the look that Rey gave Ben.

Ben tapped the side of the table with his thumb. He asked, “Will he be joining us later?”

“Don’t know,” said Poe. “It sounded bad, though, so I wouldn’t count on it.” He knew Finn and Rose couldn’t care less if Armitage joined the little get-together. They tolerated him. Poe suspected they had even grown to forgive him for the person he once had been. They still didn’t _like_ him. Rey and Ben, though? Poe didn’t know them that well. But, he was pretty sure they were being… Abnormal tonight.

Rey put her drink to her lips but didn’t sip. Instead, she said something too quiet to hear. Ben sighed. “Can I go talk to him?”

“That’s not a good idea,” said Poe. He’d meant to think the words, not say them; still, they’d slipped out, and there was no point in pretending they hadn’t. Poe set his own cup down. “Look, I didn’t think he’d react like this. I didn’t tell him any of you were coming over.”

“Sure,” said Rose. “We figured.”

“He’s fine most of the time, anyway,” said Poe. “If I had to guess, though, I’d bet the thing that makes this different is you, _Ben._ So, why don’t we all eat and have a nice time, and then you guys can head out, and we’ll work up to maybe doing this for real sometime in the future.”

Ben hit the table with his fist and stood. “ _Ben_ ,” said Rey. His shoulders slumped, and he sank back into his seat.

“I don’t want to be here, either,” Ben said, more to his plate than to anyone at the table. “We just came so I could…” His face twisted up a bit before he choked out, “Say I’m sorry.” Rey touched the back of his hand, and Ben looked at Poe. “I’m not that person anymore.”

“Maybe that’s true,” said Poe. “He’s still not ready to see you.”

“But-“

“That’s okay,” Rey said, cutting Ben off. “We’ll try again another time.” Poe didn’t know at what point Rey had become Ben’s voice of reason. He seemed to take solace in her voice, and he relaxed. Lando went back to regaling them all with stories from his past, and Rose and Finn shared pictures of their kids.

When dinner was over, Poe was mildly amazed it hadn’t turned into a disaster. “I’d ask you guys to stay for a movie or something… Not tonight, though.”

“You should check on him,” Rey agreed.

“We need to get home, anyway,” said Rose. “A movie night sounds fun. Maybe over the summer if everyone can get away from work.”

“Sometime,” said Poe. Finn shook Poe’s hand, then hugged him.

“We’ll see you soon, Poe.”

Lando left with a handshake, a wink, and a, “Hope you’re not sleeping on the couch tonight.” Poe chuckled and bid him goodbye, all the while hoping the same thing.

“Thanks, Poe,” said Rey.

“Hope you didn’t cross the galaxy for a two-hour dinner,” Poe said.

Rey shook her head. “It was about more than that.”

Poe almost didn’t offer a handshake to Ben, but the taller man stood there looking so unsure that Poe didn’t know what else to do. “If you have changed, then I’m glad for you.”

Ben returned the handshake after a moment. “I’m sorry for what I did to you. Will you tell Hux that I want to talk to him, too? Sometime. A call, if that feels… Safer for him.” This man was much timider than the Kylo Ren Poe had known. Maybe it was all true. And, just like Armitage, Ben had changed.

“I’ll tell him,” Poe said, withholding his own judgement. If it was true, Poe might get around to forgiving him. He’d try, at least.

Armitage was waiting on the bed, lying back with his datapad. From the looks of it, he had been working, even though they were supposed to be on holiday vacation. Poe couldn’t blame him. The Republic didn’t stop working just because it was a holiday.

“Are you mad at me?” Poe asked, walking over to sit at Armitage’s feet.

“No,” Armitage said with that lilt to his voice that meant he was furious.

Poe nodded and leaned back on the bed. “You’ll never guess the reason Ben was here.”

“To announce his personal mission to lead another galactic takeover.”

“To apologize.”

Armitage looked up from the datapad. “What?”

“Something he’s doing, I guess. Trying to be a better person. He kept asking me if you were going to join us because he wanted to talk to you.” Poe rolled his shoulders, stretching out. “Rey put him up to it, I think. It was the weirdest thing, hearing him say he was sorry.”

“Well, why didn’t you come get me?” Armitage set the datapad aside and sat up. “I would’ve liked to hear that.”

Poe took the opportunity to slide up next to Armitage, moving an arm around him. “I told him I didn’t think you were ready to talk. I didn’t know you were ready to forgive him.”

“Forgive him? No. I would’ve liked to see the look on his face as he said the words.”

“Don’t run off next time, then.”

“Don’t invite people into my home without telling me.”

“Fair enough,” said Poe. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need to see the look on your face when you say it.”

Poe smirked. “He did sort of have to force the words out.”

“Of course, he did. He never knew how to take responsibility for anything.”

“Can you forgive me, at least?”

“That depends,” said Armitage.

“On?”

“On what you plan on doing to make it up to me.”

Poe smirked and pulled Armitage closer. He could work with those terms.

 

 


End file.
